Adolf Eichmann
This was a man who referred to himself as the “Jewish Specialist”!
Adolf Eichman joined the Austrian Nazi party after a string of unsuccessful job ventures in Austria and was picked up by the SS for his like mindedness to their goal. Adolf Eichman was one of the most brutal Nazis to have been part of the regime and was assigned as a corporal in the Dachau concentration camp in 1934. Even though at that time German behavior towards minorities hadn’t completely materialized, Eichman proved himself as a valuable asset to the Reich.
Eichman was then assigned a clerical duty to collect information on prominent Jews. This was the time when his interest in Jewish activities across Europe reached its epitome and his thinking towards them became inhumane. He was part of the team assigned to investigate “solutions to the Jewish Question” and visited Palestine to study the feasibility of mass immigration to the middle east. The British however, kicked him out.
In 1939, Eichman was made the head of Gestapo Section B4 which specially dealt with the practical implementation of Nazi policy towards Jews. His jurisdiction was Germany in addition to all the occupied territories, thus making him one of the evilest man in the Reich. He was personally responsible for mass torture and execution campaigns. He singlehandedly decimated the Jewish population of Poland once the Nazis occupied the country. He ordered them to be restricted in congested ghettos and camps that later turned out to be the killing grounds of thousands either due to cold blooded murder or starvation.
It was due to Eichmann’s supervision that the Nazis succeeded in carrying out horrendous crimes against Jews. In the first year alone, 300000 Jews had been exterminated! He travelled throughout Europe to ensure the concentration camps kept getting a uniform supply of Jews on a regular basis and thus had a major role in carrying out Hitler’s orders. By the time the war ended, it was believed that he was responsible for the loss of almost 5 million lives, including Jews and other minorities!
As Germany surrendered, Eichmann made his way out of the country into Argentina but he could run for only so long and was captured by Israeli agents in 1960. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death. The hanging took place on May 31st, 1962.